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Oh No! Toxic waste on the 'roof of the world'?
- Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh
Writer, Author & Social Activist
Blogger - "Climate Diary Of Dr (Ms) Sharad Singh"
Often we have a habit of keeping unnecessary things on the roof of the house. Old coolers, cooler trolleys, old chair tables etc., we keep dumping many such junks on the roof of our house. But still prefer to throw the waste of the house in the dustbin. But there is someone who is dumping toxic waste on the roof of the house. This is wrong, isn't it? Toxic and radioactive waste, that too on the roof of the house can pose a threat to the entire atmosphere and the entire climate, if that roof is the roof of the world. Yes, according to news reports, China has turned the Tibetan Plateau into a dumping station for toxic waste. Remember that this plateau is between India and China.
New research suggests that the area of Himalayan glaciers has shrunk by 40 percent since the Little Ice Age maximum between 400-700 years ago, and that in the past few decades ice melt has accelerated faster than in other mountainous parts of the world. Atmospheric warming is the main driver of glacier melt in the Hindu Kush Himalayas—temperatures here, as at the poles, are rising faster than the global average. But local topography and other factors may also be shaping the pace of retreat, scientists say. Central Asia's Tibetan Plateau is called nicknamed "the roof of the world"-its average elevation is more than 4,500 meters (14,764 feet). It is the world's highest and largest plateau.
Shocking facts were revealed in the Rajgir Manifesto issued after the convention of the Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association held at the International Convention Center in Rajgir (Bihar) on 31 October and 1 November 2022. The declaration said that the inhuman way in which China has exploited the natural forests, dense vast forests and natural resources of Tibet has resulted in a serious imbalance in the environment. Tibet is a country situated at high altitude, which is the origin of ten major rivers flowing in Asian countries. According to environmentalists, due to this most of the rivers have become dry, or their flow has reduced. The Chinese rulers have started the work of reversing the course of the Brahmaputra river flowing in the north-east and Assam towards China. There used to be 46,000 marked glaciers in Tibet. The way the temperature is increasing, it is estimated that by 2030, 60 percent of the glaciers will end. Tibet has been turned into a dustbin of nuclear waste. To save Tibet's environment, the international community needs to take collective action so that Tibet can be saved from environmental destruction. This has serious global implications as 'Tibet' is the roof of the world. It affects the entire planet Earth.
Another report says, the carbon footprint of China's industrial activities, mining of lithium, and mining for nuclear minerals has also deeply affected the monsoon cycle in the region, said an article in Providence Journal. Subsequently, excessive industrial mining in the occupied territories of Tibet has also robbed the country of its natural resources, leaving the land barren and infertile, Tibet Press reported. In addition, China has also continuously ignored the Montreal Protocol, which exclusively prevents Beijing from using hydrocarbons, said the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Beijing's land and resource policies for Tibet have largely inflicted severe damage to the people and environment. Detrimental waste dumping actions have destructed and degraded Beijing's eco-system, worryingly affecting its marine and offshore life. The negligence of Tibet's ecosystem led overseas Tibetan communities to demonstrate against China during the Glasgow COP26 summit in November 2021.
Many other reports prove this fact. An US-based journal (Jianli Yang, Providence, 28 December 2021) was claimed that China is dumping toxic waste in Tibet and further that it does not provide adequate resources to the region to protect its ecosystem. The carbon footprint of China’s industrial activities, mining of lithium, and mining for nuclear minerals in Tibet has deeply affected the monsoon cycle in the region claims the article in the Providence Journal.
The plateau of Tibet is also known as the "Water Tower" of Asia. It gives drinking water to about 2 billion people. Experts fear that by 2050 most of the water reserves in this region may be over. By the middle of this century, the entire Tibetan Plateau will lose a large part of its water tower. This information has been revealed from a study. This is by far the most comprehensive research on this issue. The research paper has been published in the natural climate change journal 'Nature'. Amu Darya Basin – which supplies water to Central Asia and Afghanistan, research shows a 119% drop in its water supply capacity. The Indus Basin – which supplies water to northern India, Kashmir and Pakistan – has shown a 79% drop in its water supply capacity. Overall, a quarter of the entire human population will be affected by it. In the news published in Radio Free Asia in 2020, a person named Gyaltsen said, the environment is worshiped in Tibet as the roof of the world. There is hardly any problem in the air and water here. Due to excessive exploitation of China, problems like pollution of air and water have also started coming here. Many species of animals have become extinct. Tibetans have been famous for their nomadic lifestyle. The number of nomads has also decreased due to the forced resettlement of China. They are facing a huge problem in adapting to the new lifestyle and gathering resources for living.
We cannot carry the load of toxic waste on the roof of our world when not only Asia but the whole earth is going through climate crisis. Not as a politician but as an environmentalist and a humanist, it has to be understood and appropriate steps have to be taken in time. It is better that the plateau of Tibet should be handed over to the Tibetans so that they can always protect that land.
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(18.12.2022)
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